SciFi Stream

Gary Scott Thompson, executive producer on NBC's upcoming revamped Knight Rider series, told SCI FI Wire that he learned lessons from last spring's backdoor pilot movie as to the direction to take the fall show.

Deanna Russo, who reprises the role of Sarah Graiman in NBC's upcoming Knight Rider series, told SCI FI Wire that her character has changed dramatically from the two-hour pilot film: She's less of a bookish nerd and more of a kickass member of the team.

Gary Scott Thompson, the new executive producer and show runner of NBC's upcoming Knight Rider TV series, told SCI FI Wire that he's revamping the original concept from the two-hour telemovie/backdoor pilot that aired in February, mainly by beefing up the cast and amping up the action, after consulting the original 1980s series.

The “Knight Rider” telemovie may have pulled in good ratings — enough to bring the show back as a series on NBC — but if it’s going to have any semblance of a future, KITT and his legendary driver are going to have to find their science-fiction roots. New showrunner Gary Scott Thompson says the series version of “Knight Rider” will explore some of the writer’s own roots with the Fast and the Furious franchise, and move beyond the novelty of a talking car, which may have been interesting in the early 1980s, but not so impressive in 2008. “What was missing for me was, ‘Can your car do this?’” Thompson recently told SFX Magazine. “I said to NBC, ‘That’s what you guys are missing and that’s what you’ve got to do. This car has to not just change colors, this car has to transform …

NBC announced plans to bring cast and crew of its TV shows Heroes, Knight Rider, Chuck, Kings and My Own Worst Enemy to Comic-Con International in San Diego in July, and NBC's sister cable network SCI FI Channel will be bringing Battlestar Galactica, Stargate Atlantis, Ghost Hunters and Eureka.

NBC today announced its premiere dates for the new fall season, headlined by the smash hit Heroes on September 22. Heroes will return for its third season in the chapter subtitled “Villains,” introducing a host of new characters — including lots of new baddies, to be sure. The peacock network will also bring science fiction fans the new version of Knight Rider, which continues the classic 1980s series created by Glen Larson.

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